Season 16, Episode 2 Review: Ol’ Wheezy Wobbles

In today’s episode, It’s a bad day on Misty Island, for Ol’ Wheezy the crane has stopped working, but Thomas is sure he can help back from Sodor. That’s riiiiiiight!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all, it’s good that after 3 series since Misty Island Rescue, the Logging Locos, along with Ol’ Wheezy and Hee-Haw, are still with us, unlike most of the characters HiT have introduced in their time with Thomas, for as we know, some haven’t appeared since the episode they were introduced. Many fans are also glad to hear Ferdinand say a lot more than just his catchphrase, and there wasn’t very many awfully written sentences in this episode, are us fans finally being listened to? Well, today, we didn’t have a three strikes and you’re out episode, oh no, we had a FOUR strikes and you’re out episode, and surprise, surprise, the lead tank engine was engine X.

Within how much I love Thomas, it really hurts me to see our number one engine being the central role in almost every episode of HiT’s version of the show, for it’s always the same lazy plotline, if you don’t know what the three strike rule is, it’s this: Engine X does something, does it again and again, and then learns what he’s done wrong, but then repeats the same mistake in the next episode. At least it wasn’t also focused on something sugar coated that had nothing to do with normal railway operation, and at least Thomas did listen to what Den and Dart wanted, dispite thinking what we all were, in why did Den and Dart need each other? And why when one went off with Thomas, the other half of the Dieselworks duo couldn’t chase after them? Not to mention the fact that it was the engine drivers who were trying to fix Ol’ Wheezy, I think one fan put it best for me today, for he said the engine crews are just the engines’ hands now, they only come into the story when the engine wants something doing that they can’t do themselves, one of the many things that makes the CGI Thomas series an eco of Awdry’s original stories.

But as normal the CGI itself as brilliant, to think the dedicated team at Nitrogen always try to make their work on the show the standard Thomas deserves, it’s such a shame that this series is their last, why couldn’t HiT start a new contract with them instead of giving it to another animation company? For they work much harder than the writing team, and yes, Sharon Miller is leaving to, thank goodness, but it will probably never be the case that we see their wonderful animation with a good story.

Over all, this episode was a 3 striker, but with a few little differences from normal, it’s like a naughty engine with his whistle painted in a different yellow, but anyway, let’s just wait now for Express Coming Through, though something tells me it will once again be Sharon Miller’s famous (for the wrong reasons) formula.

But still, take care of yourselves fellow Thomas fans, and your trains, good night!